Study God

There are two all-to-common errors when it comes to studying God and God’s teachings. The first is to let one’s relationship with God be overrun by study. This is the person whose so-called relationship with God becomes an academic exercise. The second error is the exact opposite. This is the person who is all heart and no head. Possibly out of reaction to those who merely study God academically, these are those who fail to study God at all. Neither error is acceptable for the authentic follower of Christ. When giving the greatest commandment, Jesus made it clear that we are not only to love God with all our heart and all our soul, but we must love God with all our minds (Matthew 22:36-40). To neglect the study of God not only dishonors God but is also dangerous: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). Life is hard and abounds with challenge. The person who has carefully considered God’s sovereignty, grace, mercy, and providence will be the person whose roots go deep into the ground strengthening that person for life’s inevitable storms. The person who neglects these thoughts of God may have great heart for God but will be dangerously vulnerable when winds blow hard against them. Put another way, knowledge of God leads to knowledge of life, and sadly, the flip is also true. When we ignore God we are ignoring the abounding life God will birth in us and through us. To authentically relate to God and trust God, we must know more of who this God truly is and what he is up to in this world. When we lack depth of understanding we will lack depth of conviction and depth of participation. When we have depth of understanding, we will have the depth of conviction that will bring about the kind of living for which we truly long.